I Died The Day He Married My Sister

The day my sister stepped into the limousine to take my place at the altar, Roman received a final notice from the hospital. "Mr. Ashford," the voice on the other end was clipped, professional, yet laced with an ultimatum. "Ms. Lowell’s account is significantly in arrears. If the balance isn't cleared today, we will be forced to cease all life-sustaining measures." Roman let out a short, incredulous laugh, the sound sharp against the hum of the wedding preparations. "Tell Norah to stop the theatrics. It’s embarrassing," he sneered into the phone, adjusting his silk tie. "Tell her that even if she dies today, I’m still marrying Sienna. She can save her little performance." Around him, the groomsmen—scions of New York’s oldest money—chuckled in solidarity. "Is that hospital looking to get shut down?" one of them scoffed, swirling his scotch. "Don't they know who they're talking to? The Ashfords own half of Manhattan." The call ended. In the sterile silence of the hospital room, I watched, helpless, as the nurse reached out and disconnected the ventilator. It took less than thirty seconds. The machine’s rhythmic hum died, leaving a deafening silence. The nurse checked her watch and spoke softly to the empty room. "Time of death: October 10th, 2025." Today was the day I died. It was also Roman’s wedding anniversary. Roman didn’t think of me again until the reception was over. When the last guest had left and the confetti had been swept away, he finally drove to the hospital. He pushed open the door to my room. Seeing my body still lying on the bed, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. "See?" He turned to the empty hallway, validating his own cruelty. "I told you no one would dare cut off your meds." He started to walk toward me, a rebuke ready on his lips. But he was stopped by a voice from behind him—a somber man from the funeral home, holding a garment bag. "Excuse me, sir. I need you to step aside. It’s time to dress the body." 1 "Roman, let me go check on her for you. I'll find out which hospital has the nerve to threaten the Ashford family." Roman had rejected his groomsman's offer with a cold wave of his hand. "There’s nothing to see. It’s just Norah’s usual cry for attention," he said, his voice dripping with fatigue. "Ever since the accident, she plays the victim card. She claims she has ALS, says she has no money for treatment. But I send Sienna to check on her every single day. It’s all a lie." The groomsman tried to press the issue, but Roman’s patience snapped. "Did Norah pay you off? Why are you defending her?" The friend backed down, muttering an apology. Roman’s expression hardened. "When Norah got hurt, I made a promise," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Even though Sienna is taking her place to fulfill the marriage contract between our families, I promised to take care of Norah for the rest of her life. Who would dare neglect someone under my protection? Stopping treatment? It’s absurd." As he spoke, he caught sight of Sienna waiting in the vintage Rolls Royce. The ice in his eyes melted instantly. I was nothing but a wisp of consciousness floating in the air, watching the man I once loved look at my sister with adoration. The bitterness in my chest was overwhelming. Roman didn't know. From the day he decided to let Sienna wear the ring meant for me, I had been erased. My parents, desperate to cement their climb up the social ladder, backed Sienna’s decision to move me. "Move her somewhere cheap," they had agreed. "We can't have a cripple embarrassing the family name." So Sienna transferred me. They dumped me in a sub-standard facility, cut off the specialists, and fired the private nurses. They let my brain injury spiral into the aggressive progression of ALS. In the beginning, Roman would call. Even when he was busy closing billion-dollar deals, he checked in. Until his mother, the formidable Victoria Ashford, stood at the foot of my bed and demanded he break the engagement. "Roman, marrying a paralyzed woman will make this family a laughingstock," she had hissed, her face flushed with indignation. "She can’t be a hostess. She can’t give us an heir. The Ashfords do not support useless assets." I still remember the shame of that day, having nowhere to hide my broken body. So when I heard Sienna would take my place, part of me was relieved. How could I, a woman wasting away, stand beside Roman Ashford? But now, seeing Sienna in the Vera Wang gown custom-made for my measurements, wearing the diamond Roman had cut specifically for my finger... the pain was a physical spike through my phantom heart. Inside the ballroom, glasses clinked. Someone shouted a toast. "Congrats, Roman! Here’s to a lifetime with your girl. May you have a son within the year!" The room went quiet for a split second. The "girl" was supposed to be me, once upon a time. Roman leaned toward his assistant, whispering something low. "Check on Norah’s status at the hospital." Sienna noticed the shift in his mood. "Roman? Is everything okay?" He forced a smile, squeezing her hand. "Everything is perfect. Someone just mentioned a baby. Don't forget that part of the deal." Sienna blushed, and the sight burned my eyes. Even as a ghost, Roman’s tenderness toward her felt like suffocation. I wanted to flee, to dissolve into the ether. But then, the assistant rushed back in, looking frantic. "Roman, the hospital says Norah isn't there. She was transferred months ago. She's gone." 2 "What did you say?" Roman shot up from his seat, his chair screeching against the floor. He moved to leave, but Sienna grabbed his arm. "Roman, where are you going?" "You visit Norah every day," he snapped, his voice rising. "Did you know she was transferred?!" Sienna froze. A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, but she smoothed it over instantly with a practiced calmness. "Yes, I had her moved. But I did it for her own good, Roman. I found a place that specializes in her condition." She softened her voice, pleading. "Even if you don't trust me, you know no hospital in New York would dare mistreat a Lowell connected to an Ashford. She's fine." The tension in Roman's jaw loosened slightly, but the shadow of unease remained between his brows. Sienna seized the moment, linking her arm through his and pulling him back toward the celebration. I watched him sit back down, and the flicker of hope I’d felt was extinguished. Roman, she’s lying to you! Just go to the hospital! If you go, you’ll see! I screamed at him, floating right beside his ear. I shouted until my soul ached. But he couldn't hear me. I watched them exchange rings. My vision blurred. The reception dragged on for hours. When it finally ended, I followed Roman. He didn't go to the bridal suite. He went to my old hospital room—the fancy one I hadn't been in for months. He stood outside the door, listening. My heart—if it still beat—would have been deafening. But he didn't open the door. He just looked through the small glass pane at the empty bed, assuming I was asleep. "Norah," he whispered to the silence. "I got married today." He leaned his forehead against the wood, sounding exhausted. "I know you hate me for marrying Sienna. But there are things out of my control. You know I loved you. I told you once—it was always you." A ghost of a smile touched his lips as he remembered. We met at the Ashford estate. My parents dragged me there to network. I was supposed to play the violin for his mother’s birthday, but I froze. The stares of the elite were too heavy. It was Roman who walked onto the stage, sat at the piano, and guided me through the melody. He later claimed he just didn’t want the party ruined, but that night, our fates knotted together. Loving him was exhausting. Everyone mocked me—the climber chasing the crown prince. But on his eighteenth birthday, he took my hand in front of everyone. "Norah," he had said, "I don't start things I don't finish. You’re going to be Mrs. Ashford. Don't try to run." We were so sure of our future then. "Don't hate me, Norah," Roman said now, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. He looked at the "No Smoking" sign, then at my "sleeping" form through the glass, and put the lighter away. He tapped the glass gently. "Tomorrow, I'll move you. I'll bring you to the hospital closest to our penthouse. Okay?" The room remained silent. Finally sensing something was wrong, Roman frowned and reached for the handle. Just then, his phone rang. "Sienna's sick? I'm coming." His hand dropped. He turned and left. The door stayed closed. 3 I didn't follow Roman back. I couldn't bear to witness his wedding night. instead, I waited in the silence of the room where my body lay. Roman said he would come. He always kept his word, eventually. But the next morning, I was woken by screaming in the hallway. I drifted out and saw Nana Rose—my grandmother, the only person who ever truly loved me—arguing with Sienna. "Nana!" I cried out, reaching for her. But Nana was focused on Sienna, her eyes blazing with fury. "Norah is dead! None of you came to help her, none of you came to hold her hand, and now you want to steal her body?" Sienna didn't back down. She crossed her arms, cold and imperious. "This is all Norah's fault. It was my wedding night, and Roman left me alone to come check on her! She’s a curse. Even dead, she’s haunting us." "I’m moving her body," Sienna spat. "I’m dumping it somewhere Roman will never find it." Nana clutched her chest, her face paling. I tried to push Sienna away, but my hands passed through her like smoke. "I don't have a sister," Sienna continued, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "If she hadn't existed, everything the Lowells have would have been mine from the start. Why did I have to be the one sent away to boarding school while she stayed home?" I froze. I never knew she hated me this much. Nana was begging now. "Sienna, please. She’s gone. She can’t stop you and Roman anymore. Let her rest." Sienna laughed, a cruel, sharp sound, and shoved Nana hard. "Old hag. I’m not soft like you. I don't care about morality. I paid someone to arrange Norah’s 'accident' years ago, and she survived it. Now Roman wants to move her closer? No. She needs to disappear so he can finally forget her." The revelation hit me like a physical blow. My paralysis... the accident that ruined my life... it was my sister. Nana screamed, "My Norah... oh, my poor Norah!" Sienna, impatient, grabbed Nana and threw her aside. Nana hit the floor hard, her head cracking against the linoleum. Blood began to pool. "What are you doing?!" I screamed, sobbing, uselessly beating my fists against Sienna’s back. "She’s your grandmother!" Sienna stepped over Nana to open the door to my room. Nana, bleeding and desperate, lunged forward and grabbed Sienna’s ankle. "I won't let you hurt her again!" Sienna stumbled. She fell hard, her stomach hitting the floor. She gasped, curling into a ball, clutching her abdomen. Then, blood—bright and red—began to stain her white dress. "What did you do to Sienna?!" A man’s voice roared from the elevator banks. It was Roman. 4 "Roman!" I screamed, pointing at Nana. "Sienna hurt Nana! Look at the blood on her head!" But Roman was deaf to me. His eyes were locked only on the crimson stain spreading across Sienna's white skirt. Sienna, eyes bloodshot and wild, grabbed Roman’s sleeve. "Roman... I just wanted to see my sister... but Nana... she told me to get out. She attacked me... I couldn't fight back... our baby..." I stood frozen. Baby? I looked at Roman’s panicked profile, and my world collapsed for the second time. They had been together long enough to conceive. While I was rotting in a bed, waiting for a call that never came. Roman glared at the closed door of my room, his voice vibrating with rage. "Norah! I promised I’d move you today! Why would you incite this violence against Sienna? Come out here and apologize to her right now! Or I swear, I am done with you!" The room remained silent. I trembled, watching him. Nana, clutching her chest, gasped out, "Mr. Ashford... Norah is dead... she couldn't have told me to do anything... Sienna is lying..." Roman paused, a frown creasing his forehead. Sienna saw his hesitation. "Roman, would I lie about our child? Nana has always hated me. She only ever loved Norah." Roman’s doubt vanished. He signaled his bodyguards. Two massive men grabbed Nana, pinning her arms. Roman turned back to the door. "Norah. If you don't come out, I’ll let the person you love most pay the price for you." He checked his watch. "Three seconds." "Roman, I'm dead! Please, leave her alone!" I screamed. "Just open the door! Just look!" He nodded to his guard. The man kicked Nana in the back of the knee. She collapsed to the floor with a sickening thud, gasping for air. "Apologize to my fiancée!" the guard barked. "I... I can't breathe..." Nana wheezed. "Asthma..." Her trembling hands fumbled for her purse. But Sienna reached out and kicked the bag across the hall. "Keep kneeling," Sienna sneered. "I don't feel your apology yet." Roman watched Sienna’s cruelty. He opened his mouth to object, but then his eyes fell on the blood on her dress again, and he stayed silent. I tried to hold Nana, my tears mixing with the blood on her face. "Roman, please! Help her!" Just as Nana’s face began to turn purple, the elevator chimed. A staff member from the funeral home walked out, holding a garment bag. He looked around the chaotic hallway. "Where is the family of Norah Lowell? I have the burial shroud. Who is going to dress her?"

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